Help Count Claremore Trains As You Wait

What if every time you left to drive somewhere, you had to build in extra time just in case you were stopped by a train. That's what life's like for many in Claremore.

The city is collecting data from residents to learn how bad the problem really is. We are just north of downtown where the two railroad lines cross: Burlington Northern-Sante Fe and Union Pacific. Seemed like a good place to see one of the 50 to 70 trains that come through here every day.

Jack Dennis and his wife Dorothy stopped by. Like most  folks here, they've got something to say about the trains.

"I know they are necessary, but we've got more than we can handle," Jack said.

Over at City Hall, they're listening. They've created a website that allows them to track trains and people's comments.

"We've had about 1,000 responses so far," said Jeri Koehler, City of Claremore.

Help Count Claremore Trains

It's a simple website. Easy enough that while you wait for the train to pass, you could log your comments: was it a slow train or a fast one? Did it make you late? Stuff like that.

The trains are a burden and a blessing. They really do bring things to a halt, but more trains means business is good - and that's not bad.

So many trains could make you complacent. That doesn't seem like a good idea.

So much freight is being moved on trains there promise to be more of them.

"Now they're saying in two years it will be double," said Jack Dennis. 

Actually city planners say 10 years, but the promise of 100 to 150 trains a day is what has the city looking for solutions, all of which are very expensive.